HealthDay (12/5, Holmes) reports, “The more often young teens turn to social media, the more prone they are to eating disorders,” researchers concluded after looking “at close to 1,000 middle school students and their use of four social media networks: Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Tumblr.” The findings were published online Dec. 4 in the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Healio (12/5, Gramigna) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “More Teen Time on Social Media, More Eating Disorders?, “Rich Holmes, HealthDay, December 5, 2019

HealthDay (12/4, Reinberg) reports that researchers have “found a strong association between vaping and depression in a study of nearly 900,000 U.S. adults,” with the “apparent culprit” being nicotine. The findingswere published online Dec. 4 in JAMA Network Open. Healio (12/4, Gramigna) also covers the study.

Related Links:

— “Another Downside to Vaping: Higher Odds for Depression, ” Steven Reinberg, HealthDay, December 4, 2019

Medscape (12/4, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “Brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is likely a cost-saving intervention for suicidal active-duty Army soldiers,” investigators concluded in “a new economic analysis of the treatment.” In order to arrive at these findings, investigators used data from a 152-patient study, “as well as epidemiologic datasets,” to create “a decision analytic model that compared effects and costs of 12 individual brief CBT sessions plus treatment as usual vs only treatment as usual for soldiers who had recently experienced a suicidal crisis.” The findings were published online Nov. 27 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Brief CBT Lifesaving, Cost-Effective for Suicidal Crises, “Megan Brooks, Medscape, December 4, 2019

MedPage Today (12/4, Hlavinka) reports, “Patients with chronic or recurrent major depressive disorder [MDD] who achieved recovery had a higher chance of sustaining recovery when they stayed on maintenance antidepressant medication,” researchers concluded in “randomized phase II trial.” The study revealed that “among 292 adults who had achieved recovery with either medication treatment alone or combined with cognitive behavioral therapy…recurrence was significantly less likely among patients who stayed on maintenance therapy compared with those who were withdrawn from medication treatment, regardless of whether they achieved remission through medication alone” or “with combined treatment.”

Psychiatric News (12/4) reports, “Maintenance of antidepressant medication treatment was associated with a reduced risk of depressive recurrence, but previous treatment with cognitive-behavioral therapy was not,” the study revealed. The findings were published online Dec. 4 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Study Raises New Questions About How Best to Reduce Risk of Depression Recurrence, Psychiatric News, December 4, 2019

In the New York Times (12/3), pediatrician and author Cara Natterson, MD, writes, “One of the biggest myths about the beauty myth is that it’s female,” because “boys suffer from unrealistic beauty standards, too.” Natterson observes, “Many thoughtful researchers have offered up data about male body dysmorphia, showing that body image concerns and eating disorders alike are basically gender neutral.” For that reason, “we need to call out the disconnect between ideal health and ideal physique for boys, something we have done for females for many years now.” Boys need to be asked “about their experiences as emerging men in a culture often saturated with toxic masculinity; about their knowledge of what’s actually happening to their changing bodies; about the pressures associated with body goals.” Natterson concludes, “The key to raising boys begins with dialogue.”

Related Links:

— “The Beauty Myth for Boys, “Cara Natterson, The New York Times, December 3, 2019